Kerry Conkling holding the Greater Conroe Arts Alliance's 2018 Pursuit of Excellence Award for the visual arts, which was presented to her on Oct. 25. Current Conroe Art League President Brett Hall is standing next to Kerry.

Kerry Conkling holding the Greater Conroe Arts Alliance's 2018 Pursuit of Excellence Award for the visual arts, which was presented to her on Oct. 25. Current Conroe Art League President Brett Hall is standing

Kerry Conkling holding the Greater Conroe Arts Alliance's 2018 Pursuit of Excellence Award for the visual arts, which was presented to her on Oct. 25. Current Conroe Art League President Brett Hall is standing next to Kerry.

Kerry Conkling holding the Greater Conroe Arts Alliance's 2018 Pursuit of Excellence Award for the visual arts, which was presented to her on Oct. 25. Current Conroe Art League President Brett Hall is standing

Area abstract, mixed media artist Annette Palmer is returning to the Glade Gallery, Glade Cultural Center, 2000 Woodlands Parkway, The Woodlands for an exhibit titled “Pause, Rewind, Play.” The exhibit opens with a reception on November 1 at 6:30 pm, with Palmer leading guests through a private tour. “Pause, Rewind, Play” is a departure from the exhibit held this past August at the Glade Gallery, in which Palmer displayed large colorful landscapes and seascapes to convey her feelings about the vastness of land and sea in both Texas and the artist’s birth country of Scotland. Communication, especially in written form, has been a constant source of inspiration to Palmer. In the new exhibit, Palmer invites viewers to “communicate and connect through nostalgic ephemera, music and art.” Palmer’s current exhibit explores lost means of communication through mixtapes from the Gen-X era. See more about Annette Palmer’s art at her website, www.annettepalmerart.com. Patrons may send an RSVP for the opening reception to Dragos Tapu, Gallerist, via email at dragos@gladegallery.com or via telephone at 832-557-8781. See more about the Glade Gallery and the Glade Cultural Center at www.gladeculturalcenter.com.

Craft Beer Tasting and Art Crawl

The Howard Hughes Corporation invites the public to The Woodlands Art Crawl & Craft Beer Tasting, to take place on Saturday, November 3 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Hughes Landing, an award-winning, mixed-use development overlooking 200-acre Lake Woodlands. Guests will be afforded a look at four newly unveiled art benches and an array of outdoor sculptures within the walkable setting of Hughes Landing. Live entertainment and music will be featured at the Band Shell, which is itself both an art piece and a stage venue set next to Hughes Landing’s Restaurant Row. In addition to the permanent outdoor art on display, a number of area artists working in various media from clay works, fiber, glass, metal, painting, drawing, mixed media, glass, jewelry, will be exhibiting and selling their artwork. The entertainment and artwork are free to enjoy. Craft beer tasting admission is $15 per person, which includes food and up to five beer samples. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Woodlands Arts Council. Register online at https://thewoodlandsartcrawlcraftbeertasting.eventbrite.com.

The outdoor art pieces visitors may view during the art crawl include “Acrobática” by Rafael Barrios; “Wind Waves” by Yvonne Domenge; “Dream It, Do It” and “Inter.nation.all. Waters” by John Runnels; “Fenris Glacier,” “Karale Glacier,” and “Midgard Glacier” by Julie Speidel; and “Firefly” by John Clement. Four of the newly-unveiled art benches which are part of a project coordinated by The Woodlands Arts Council, will also be available for viewing. They include: “Resolute” by Paul Reimer, near Lakes Edge Boat House; “The Woodlands Wind-O” by STEROTANK, near Truluck’s; “Quercus” by Owen Dixon in the median of Restaurant Row; and “Unmasked Symbiosis” by Gaston Carrio. For more information about the art benches, visit the website, www.thewoodlandsartscouncil.org. For more information about the Howard Hughes Corporation, visit their website at www.howardhughes.com.

Two exhibits at the Wynne Home

The Wynne Home Arts Center, 1428 Eleventh Street, Huntsville will be hosting a “Day of the Dead” exhibition and reception on Friday, November 2 from 6 to 8 pm. Designed for the whole family, this free-of-charge event will include refreshment and hands-on activities for children.

Leave time as well to view the exhibit titled “FM 405,” of paintings by the acclaimed Texas muralist and painter, Lee Jamison. Jamison is best known for his fine art landscapes and portraits, his paintings of history, especially Texas history, and his illustrations. A full-time artist living in Texas since 1982, Jamison’s mural work can be seen at sites such as the University of Texas, Baylor University, the Driskill Hotel and Darrel Royal Stadium in Austin, as well as at the Waco Mammoth site. His paintings are in numerous private collections nationally and internationally, including those of former president George H.W. Bush. See more about Lee Jamison online at www.leejamison.com or on Facebook. Learn more about the Wynne Home Arts Center online at www.thewynnehome.com, via Facebook or telephone them at 936-291-5424.

Kerry Conkling wins Pursuit of Excellence Award

The Greater Conroe Arts Alliance is a collaborative nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and support the arts and cultural organizations throughout the Greater Conroe area. Fourteen organizations representing the visual and performing arts, literature, and history are members of the Alliance. Under the leadership of Annette Spikes, the Alliance has endeavored since 2012 to annually recognize the contributions of persons within those organizations who, as volunteers, have made noteworthy contributions to their organization’s administrative and programmatic efforts, while endeavoring to reach out to greater numbers of area residents. In a ceremony on October 25, the Pursuit of Excellence award in the visual arts went to Kerry Conkling, a current member and former President of the Conroe Art League (CAL).

Kerry joined CAL in 2007 and though devoted to enhancing her own artistic skills, quickly made time to contribute wherever needed, whether serving on the Hospitality Committee or waving the League’s banner throughout the area. Her “afternoon tea party” initiative in 2012 was at the time, the league’s most successful fund-raising effort. Serving as CAL’s President from 2012-2014, Kerry continued to raise the profile of the League reaching out to such organizations as the Conroe CVB and the area Chamber of Commerce, as well as to art organizations like the Woodlands Arts Council, and such other area non-profits as the Young Texas Artists, the Conroe Symphony, the former Montgomery County Performing Arts Society and the SPCA. She helped CAL rewrite its by-laws in 2012 and 2016. With a “nose for news,” Kerry served as CAL’s Director of Marketing and Communications from 2015 to 2016, and continues to promote the League’s outreach efforts wherever possible. When she heard The Courier was planning to do an in-depth history of the Conroe Art League this past summer, Kerry was the first League member to volunteer her time to pour through fifty-five years of photos and documentation to assist this writer in providing a starting point for The Courier’s Sondra Hernandez to develop the piece. A champion of CAL’s Banner project, Kerry continues to lead efforts to donate enlarged canvas copies of selected area artist paintings to area non-profits including the Salvation Army, the local Women’s Shelter, Hauke Alternative High School and the Conroe Symphony. Appreciative of the Madeley building’s history as well as the difference art can make to the community, Kerry initiated a few years ago ongoing Gallery tours. The tours, which often include artistic demonstrations, have already brought in hundreds of area residents from Ladies Associations, Boy Scout groups, senior living facilities and schools, who had never known the gallery existed. Whether it’s the annual Student Scholarship program, for which she has donated personal funds, the annual 12x12 fundraiser, or making and selling Christmas ornaments to benefit CAL, Kerry continues to find ways to support and promote the work of the Conroe Art League to encourage artistic development and cultivate an appreciation for the visual arts through education, exhibitions and community outreach.